Intro to Diminished Chords

By Darren DeFranco

Welcome once again everybody,

Today we’re shedding some light on one of the most mysterious and misunderstood chords out there – the diminished chord. Many people will say not to even bother with these chords because they really aren’t used too often, but we think they are quite beautiful and certainly have a place. Today we’ll show you some of the most common shapes.

Hope you guys enjoy this diminished chord lesson!

Remember, the vii chord is always diminished in a given key. Try to figure out what the vii chord would be in the following keys and try to be able to play them: